


13 Years

by Trilicon



Category: Lucky Star (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, POV Third Person, Post-Canon, Romance, Third Person Kagami Perspective, Time Skips, rated mature for adult themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:44:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trilicon/pseuds/Trilicon
Summary: In a real life romance, you don't just get a happy ending—in fact, sometimes the stars have to align just for things to work out. For Hiiragi Kagami, romancing one Izumi Konata was a 13 year ordeal with pleasant and painful memories in equal measure.





	1. Morning Coffee

**December 25th, 2020, Present Day**

**Christmas Morning, 13 Years after Graduation**

**6 am**

Kagami knelt, mostly hidden by the island countertop, the top of her head just peeking over the kitchen island.

_What am I gonna do…_

"Tryin' to hide from me, Kagami?" An unexpected voice teased from the living room on the other side of the counter, just out of Kagami's sight.

"Oh! _You're_ up early," Kagami said, rummaging hastily for coffee from the back of the breakfast cupboard.

"I get up early sometimes!" Konata protested, the gesture wiggling her massive lock of bed head as it peeked over the counter.

"No, you really don't."

Konata giggled, that lock she never brushed down jiggling about with the slight motion.

"Yeah, you are probably right, Kagami. All the good anime is on late at night anyway."

_Always comes back to anime with her. Maybe I could tell her there are better reasons to wake up this early? Hmmm, nah, I'll leave that for another time._

Leveraging herself to her feet and putting the coffee on their greenish counter, Kagami stood up, careful of her footing so she wouldn't slip on the tile in her heavy winter socks.

Standing over the counter Kagami looked down at her girlfriend as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

_Oh, she looks hungover. Maybe we should make extra for breakfast._

It was a ridiculous sight, one she had come to know and expect.

Konata was framed against the walls, bookshelves, and glass cases of the otaku merchandise that adorned their living room, up to and including a life-sized promotional cardboard cutout of Kizumonogatari's own Hanekawa.

Seeing Konata waiting patiently for her coffee, Kagami gave her a dumb smile, to which Konata quickly returned with an equally dumb looking thumbs up.

_It's the little things..._

Konata's mop of bedhead hung messily over her back and shoulders down to her knees, only minimally adjusted so it didn't hang in front of her signature red underframe glasses. Today her hair was partly obscuring that one faded t-shirt, comfortably three sizes too large It was the one that read "MEGA MILK" in bold English letters.

_I still can't believe she walks around in that thing. It's to here knees almost... It's kinda cute in a dorky way, but I swear every other shirt she owns is anime related. I mean, the English on this makes it a bit more obscure, but..._

_Still... this quirkiness was always one of her cute points, in a weird way. She's passionate, that's what matters._

_If it makes her happy it makes_ me _happy._

Kagami sighed.

_How in the world did I ever fall in love with someone so ridiculous?_

"Oh right, Merry Christmas, Konata! You have a good time at the Christmas party yesterday?" Kagami asked, making coffee with practiced dexterity as Konata took up residence at a chair set up at the kitchen island countertop.

_I wish we had some Christmas decorations to put up, but where would we even keep them off season?_

"Merry Christmas to you too, Kagami. Yeah, last night was a lot of fun with everyone there! Still, vaguely disappointed that I didn't get as many presents as I used to, but that's adulthood, huh?"

"Wait. Wait." Kagami said, leaning over the countertop and looking Konata in the face. "Hold up, are you telling me that all those presents your dad gave you at the Christmas party were _less_ than he gave you as a kid?"

"Yeah, dad used to spoil me _preeetty_ bad back in the day, just a few kind words here and there and he'd give me everything," Konata said lackadaisically, adorably brushing her hair out of her face with the same two fingers she used to emphasize that statement.

"Back in the day, _right..._ Well, at least everyone had a good time, that's what's important." Kagami added, sighing contently as the coffee maker began to percolate.

"Yeah, but you really need to cut loose; you hardly drank anything last night." Konata said, palm upturned on the counter as if suggesting something.

"It's not like we can afford much booze on our budget anyway, "Kagami said, "and it's also not like you can handle much to start with, Konata."

_Lightweight. Literally._

"Yeah, thankfully I'm not really feeling it much now anyway," Konata added, kicking her short, surprisingly toned legs into the walkway between the kitchen and living room, perched atop her rotating chair.

"Kinda surprising considering the, uh, quality of that improv karaoke session you did with Patty," Kagami said, smiling playfully as she recalled the screechy performance. "I don't even know what _song_ that was."

"I want to say it was Head Cha-la as a duet thing, but it might have been Makafushigi Adventure. Something Dragon Ball I know." Konata said, cupping her head in her hands as she struggled to remember.

"You sure you're alright if you can't remember?" Kagami asked, sympathetically adjusting her own hair, draped straight down her back as Kagami watched Konata struggle get her hair in order without a brush.

"Yeah, don't worry about me, I got that much under control," Konata said with another big dumb thumbs up and a bigger, slightly forced smile.

"Okay okay, I believe you," Kagami said as she began to wander about the corner of the island countertop, taking in her girlfriend as she sat legs spread wide on the rotating chai-

" _Konata, seriously_?" Kagami said, stopping in place as she held her took effort to keep her drooping head from falling. "You could at least put some underwear on. _You're gonna catch cold like that_."

"You didn't seem to mind a few months ago~," Konata said, a slight teasing lilt in her voice.

"It was summer a few months ago," Kagami said flatly.

"Besides, it's not as if there can't be _other_ reasons not to wear any," Konata said, that lilt taking on a slightly more sultry tone.

_Is she trying to...?_

"You can't be serious. _This_ early in the morning? Before coffee, even?"

"Are you not in the mood, Kagami? Because I most certainly _am._ "

"Oh for the love of…" Kagami sighed, lifting her head up to look Konata in the eyes with a wry smile.

" _Alright_ , get over here, you! The coffee will be there when we're done." Kagami said, taking Konata in both arms as she carried her to the couch.

Konata let out a delighted squeal as held tight to Kagami.

_What am I gonna do with you?_

* * *

Kagami draped Konata with a blanket as she lay on the couch, the same couch that sat in essentially sat in basically the same spot perpendicular to the kitchen counter as long as they'd lived here.

Redressing, Kagami couldn't help but notice that dumb English shirt Konata had been wearing was draped across Hanekawa's cardboard face.

_On the other end of the room._

Kagami giggled.

 _Yeah, let's get this thing off of Hanekawa before they get more dented and bent than the years have already done. Gotta take care the things you own, not that I'd ever tell anyone this doesn't belong to_ Konata _._

Kagami turned back to Konata, still basking in afterglow.

_Whoops, didn't quite get it over her legs, still, nice to see that little boyish dimple she's got on her butt._

_Is... it weird to say that does something for me?_

Taking in her lazing girlfriend, she pulled the blanket back down to her thigh, taking a seat on the remaining unoccupied seat cushion

Tucking her shirt back into her pants, Kagami pulled her hair out of the twintails she'd put them in during, and smiled at Konata.

Konata turned around to smile back before turning over to a more comfortable position.

"Now that that's over, I'll bring us out some coffee, just give me a sec," Kagami said, walking around the nearby counter. "Two sugars and cream, as you like it?"

Konata's hand reached out from under the sheet, giving her a thumbs up as confirmation.

Kagami smiled harder.

_Is this what contentment feels like? I just can't help acting like it sometimes._

_It almost feels too good to be true that we came this far together..._

Taking a deep, deep breath, Kagami took in the life they had together.

 _Looking_ around at the life they'd built for themselves, It was all something she once could hardly have imagined.

_A loving life. Living in our apartment. Our home. The one we'd made our own together._

The memories began to flood her mind, thinking back on times past.

Kagami wondered to herself.

"How did we come this far?"


	2. The Grass is Bluer

**August 8th, 2007, 13 Years Ago**

**Nine Months to Graduation**

**Wednesday, 1 pm**

Kagami peered intently at the illustration in the light novel she was reading.

It was of a young woman, with long blue hair and an enormous white sunhat, who was standing awash in sunlight on a cliff overlooking the ocean.

Kagami held the book out at arm's length, taking in the lead heroine on the cover.

_She just gives off this weird, ethereal aura in the art… maybe it's how it uses pictures like this along with its powerful prose._

_But… there's something else. Just what is it about this that just makes my heart ache like it does?_

"Hey, hey, Kagami~ What's got you so happy?" Konata said, lightly depressing the book Kagami was buried in so she could see Kagami's face.

_Huh? Hmm… the protagonist on the cover looks a little bit like Konata, if a lot girlier. But more importantly-_

"Hey, don't just touch it like that, it's not yours after all." Kagami said, putting the book down.

_I struggle to remember why I'd let Konata start referring to me without an honorific. It's tantamount to saying we're a little closer than friends. I suppose it can't be helped at this point. She's done it so much everyone else has started doing it too..._

_I suppose this kind of forwardness is refreshing, but isn't it, like, really weird? Not really like I care if she calls me that all that, so no harm no foul._

"O-oh sorry, yeah I seriously stepped out of line there," Konata said, a look of earnest regret on her face before it settled back to her default lazy expression. "It's just kinda interesting watching you be so expressive reading and not even knowing what it was all about. Anyway, yeah you're right. I'd certainly be upset if someone started mistreating _my_ manga."

"It's not a manga though, it's a _novel."_ Kagami said, flatly poking fun at her

_Not like I can ever get her to read anything that isn't a manga or some adult-oriented_ _game anyway._

"Come on Kagami, we both know it's a _light_ novel." Konata said, lilting her speech with that signature, irritating tease of hers.

"Well, actually it's a bit more complicated than that," Kagami said, resting her elbows on her desk as Konata took a seat across from her.

"It was originally this super popular romance book this woman published: The Grass is Bluer on the Other Side. But it got so popular, even overseas, they decided to adapt it to Light Novel format. A lot of people weren't happy with that, preferring the non-moe character designs from the previous artwork. Still did its job and got me to read it."

Konata turned her head, smiling at Kagami for some reason.

"Wow, Kagami, that sounds like the kind of spiel me or Miyuki might give, color me impressed!" Konata said, seemingly a genuine compliment.

"Shu-shut-up.." Kagami stammered out, reflexively playing with her hair as she avoided eye contact.

"Oh! Nice job." Konata said, her smile a little skeevy looking. "Very tsundere~."

_Ugh. I swear, I seem to feed her tsundere… fetish? Is that the right word for that? I'll have to look it up later. This otaku business is confusing_

_But, still, did I need to react like that? She was definitely complimenting me._

Kagami stewed on this for a moment.

_I don't know, it just feels… strange accepting a compliment from her. Something just feels off about being complimented by the likes of her._

"But yeah-" Konata said, pulling Kagami back to reality. "I totally get why people might be leery about it. "

Konata took up a posture with her head cupped in one hand, suggesting she was thinking as she began to speak.

"Manga, games, books, light novels, visual novels, stage shows, anime, television, movies, they all have their own presentation strengths and weaknesses." Konata said, raising a finger for emphasis as she spoke. "Like, let's take Dragon Ball the anime vs Dragon Ball the manga. Specifically, the stuff in the middle, Z Fighters stuff post Gohan being born when Raditz shows up and things started getting super serious instead of your usual Akira Toriyama gag business."

_I have no idea she's talking about, but I'll play along I guess._

"I see…"

_Konata was usually into the cuter character designs, bishoujo and moe and the like, but she did have a fascination with Dragon Ball and robot anime stuff that seemed to break that boundary. Even if that stuff was usually directed at boys and full of musclemen._

Seemingly committing herself entirely to thinking, Konata pulled a chair out from under a nearby desk and sat next to Kagami.

_Whoa, that's too close!_

An image wormed its way in Kagami's head, of Konata leaning into the back of Kagami's head a few months ago, complete with all related sensations.

_W-what the hell? F-focus on what she's talking about, Kagami!_

"With the anime, you have all these incredible kinetic fight scenes, with visible, visceral destruction, but it just seems to always be happening, right?" Konata said, idly leaning toward Konata as she spoke.

Kagami could feel her cheeks begin to redden as Konata leaned in further, apparently not even noticing herself.

_G-gotta add something to this, quick._

"L-like it's just non stop, only hitting the brakes to drop exposition or explanations of how this fight is progressing, right?." Kagami said, trying to contribute to get that idea out of her head, gently nudging Konata to lean in the other direction.

Leaning to the other side with a confused look, Konata quickly collected her train of thought and returned to whatever it was she was wanted to say.

"Right, right. Anime is good at some things but those things aren't the same strengths as manga as a format. I mean, compare to the manga. It just sets you up to think something is about to happen, gives you all the time you need to think about knowing something is going to happen, all the anticipation it needs, and then one panel draws your eyes through the page to the second panel, and then to another, and then-"

" _WHAM!"_

Konata slammed her fist into her waiting open hand to emphasize. "The other guy flies through a mountain hitting every rock along the way. Then he gets up like it was nothing. It does so much more to sell how incredibly strong and tough these big muscley dudes are, you know?"

"So," Kagami said, trying her hardest to relate. "You're trying to say that the manga is better than the anime because of reader expectations. Like, uh, it only has so much page space and needs to make the most the format, right?"

 _Or, at least I_ think _that's what she's saying._

"Yeah I can get that," Kagami continued, "They made some weird changes to the pacing of this book in the light novel adaptation to make it have a light novel's short, 3-8 page long chapters. The short chapter thing is sort of the hallmark of the medium. It's more readable but it feels strange somehow."

"EXACTLY! Wow, Kagami you're so smart! You're like Miyuki in twintails!" Konata said, jubilance plain on her face as she rustled in her seat.

 _If anything_ you _are an otaku Miyuki with longer hair when you can rattle off all that_.

_Still, it's… different somehow. Miyuki's info dumps were always so… utilitarian. Konata, when she gets riled up, she's always so passionate. It's really nice to see someone so unashamed about her passion, even if she was really really annoying about it sometimes._

_She's a bit like the protagonist of the book I'm reading, but more insufferable. It's kinda cute honestly._

_THE BOOK. The_ book _is cute and she just resembles the book's main heroine a little with her blue hair and honesty._

_Konata is a tiny chatterbox otaku! What's to like about her?!_

"Kagami, something up?" Konata said, pulling Kagami from her reverie. "You've been cycling through emotions looking back and forth between me and that LN you like so much this whole time."

"I-is a-anything up?" Kagami blurted out. "Uh, nothing's up, nothing at all. No way. I was thinking about how romantic the book is, is all."

_Oh god,_ _there's no way she's gonna buy that excuse!_

"Oh, I geeeeeet _it,_ " Konata said, her mouth curling into a creepy, impish smile. "You think I look like the girl on the cover, don't you?"

"N-no! How could you be as cute as someone like Umi-chan?!" Kagami replied instinctively.

_What am I even saying?!_

"Oh, so she's cute, now? That makes _me_ cute? Kagami, you _girl lover,_ you!"

Kagami acted before thinking, picking the book to hit Konata over the head. A sharp, but harmless crack of light book's spine coming into contact with the Konata's head sounded out, drawing attention from the rest of her homeroom class.

"Owww, you didn't need to _hit_ me, but that is what makes tsunderes cute, right? Sorry if I said something bad." Konata said, rubbing her head where she was struck.

 _That was… mortifying! I… I have to say something, say something,_ say anything _about what she just suggested!_

Kagami's mouth opened, but no words would come out, just a silent hoarse croak.

_When she said that, I just… I just grabbed the nearest thing, the book I was just telling her shouldn't be handled like that._

_She's… so honest… honest in a way I can't be..._

_But what is it that was so mortifying?_ What? _Was it the girl on the cover being cute?_

Kagami pondered the question, staring at the book as she did so.

_No, I… think it was Konata suggesting I thought she was cute… But what does that have to do with any..._

Kagami swallowed.

_No, that can't be it._

Kagami thought to herself, laughing under her breath at the absurdity of the notion.

Kagami looked down at the book on her desk and turned it over in her hands.

_Couldn't be..._


	3. Hot Water

**June 20th, 2009**

**13 Months After Graduation**

**1 PM**

Kagami's steps slowed, cicadas chirping in seemingly every direction as she reached the threshold of Konata's home. Kagami noticed drops of sweat fall from her arm as she reached to lean on the door for a moment.

_I know i_ _t's important to maintain your connections as you grow older, but I_ _gotta_ _question if that wisdom holds in a Japanese summer at 100% humidity. I'm glad I_ _'m_ _get_ _ting_ _to stay over and all, but god, it's kinda sad how hard it is to keep in contact with friend_ _s anymore._

_Least I'll get to hang out with Konata more in August, even if it's at Comiket._

_Exhausting as it was last time, it was still fun. Maybe I might find something I'm actually interested in this time. Besides, Konata is still a fun time to hang around, annoyances and all._

_Still, getting all hot and sweaty walking around in a humid confined space is frankly more trouble than it's worth for comics._

Grimacing as she touched the hot metal doorbell button, Kagami was greeted by a pair of-

Kagami quickly tilted her face up out of Konata's cousin's cleavage.

"Oh hey, Kagami! What brings you 'round these parts?" Yui said, sweaty herself for obvious reasons.

_That tank top is… a little on the skimpy side, don't you think, Yui? Makes me feel overdressed when I know for a fact I'm not._

"What, didn't the twerp tell you I was coming?" Kagami said, ushering herself through the door and out of the direct sunlight.

"Oh, Yutaka? She's at Minami's place with your friend Miyuki right now. Yutaka's not telepathic as far as I know." Yui stretched as she stepped out off of the mud floor, the smell of alcohol hanging faintly where she stood.

_What? Oh okay, she's been drinking._

"Okay, first of all, it's 2009, everyone has a cell phone. Secondly, I was talking about Konata, not Yutaka. Third, Yutaka's your sister, even as a misunderstanding how can you call her twerp?"

Yui stumbled in a circle, turning and bending over to look Kagami in the eyes with a cold-blooded gaze.

"How can _you_ call _Konata_ a twerp you… _high schooler_." Yui stammered out, cheap beer like Kagami's older sisters drank on her breath.

Kagami choked back a correction that she was in college.

_I… yeah that was a step too far_ _, even in close company._

"You're right, I shouldn't have gone that far. Anyway, is she up in her room?" Kagami followed her as she stumbled into the house, her footwork clearly faking a drunk walk.

_Heh, I guess she was acting more drunk than she was for fun or something. I suppose I sorta get that._

"Nah, she's in the living room, 'least she should be," Yui said, taking steps around the corner.

_I- I'd ask her to qualify that, but if dealing with my sisters drunk talk has taught me anything, it might be best to just figure it out on my own._

Stepping into the room, Kagami noted four different fans pointed at the center of the living room.

Sitting at the table was, except Konata herself, the entire household. All were trying to beat the heat as evident by an empty tub of ice cream and several empty bottles green tea.

_So… I see Yui isn't the only one dressed like that apparently... Still..._

Plopping herself on a floor cushion, Yui took a seat across from Soujirou, who his part was completely invested in fanning himself.

"Oh hey, Kagami! Konnichiwa!" Patty said, a slight glow on her face and some kind of drink can by her side.

_She's_ _even_ _less dressed than Yui!_

_And... so is Konata's dad, but I'd rather not dwell on that._

_Ugh, what the hell is it with this family dynamic? She's just an exchange student! Sure she lives here, it's just... she's hardly even-_

"Okay, first of all, how can you make speaking Japanese sound foreign like that," Kagami said, forcibly ripping her mind from the gutter. "and second, are you even old enough to drink?!"

_Why is it that every time I come in the house someone says or does something outrageous?!_

"Nah, it's fine, it's just root beer," Patty said in her inscrutable American accent. "It's non-alcoholic!"

"If it's rootbeer, they why is your face glowing?" Kagami asked, incredulously.

" _Because it's hot!_ " the room replied in unison, including Konata as she returned from the kitchen with five glasses of ice tea.

_Knowing this family Yui spiked it with whiskey or something equally weird...  
_

_I... really hope that stays a joke.  
_

"Oh god, Konata, my daughter, you are a lifesaver," Soujirou said, once again lying down on the floor as soon as he safely had a glass.

Kagami looked at Konata.

_I'm just… just, trying to understand what I'm looking at._

_I'm just gonna assume that's some kind of low cut top for the sake of my own sanity, even in this heat._

"Oh hey, Kagami, nice to see you finally arrived," Konata said, setting the remaining glasses on the table.

"You didn't even tell them I was coming? I mean everyone is half dressed, please don't tell me this is normal here."

_Yeah, this can't possibly be normal._

"Only on really hot days. Or really lazy days, or when Dad isn't around. Or that time Patty just decided she didn't want to wear a shirt when it was only us girls."

"Say what now?" Soujirou said, still awkwardly splayed on the floor.

"It was _one_ time!" Patty object with a fake drunkenness. "I just threw all the shirts in my size in the wash, and he wasn't home. I was wearing a _bra_! Everyone else is so much smaller than me!"

_Why… why do I bother asking questions?_

"Sooo, okay, moving on from there. Were we gonna hang out here, Konata?"

"Nah, thought it would be nicer hanging out in my room for once. Plus Patty was showing me some great videos on this 'you tube' site she's been telling me about, we even upgraded our internet to handle streaming video!" Konata rambled off excitedly.

"Streaming video?" Kagami questioned as Konata unplugged and retrieved a fan, much to her dad's unstated annoyance.

"Yeah, Patty sold my dad on the concept, so we upgraded our internet package. I thought I'd show you." Konata said excitedly, not even remembering to usher Kagami into the hallway.

Following her up the stairs to her room, Konata turned on the AC, plugged in her fan, and took in the plumpeting temperatures, sighing with relief.

_Yeah, I guess it can get a bit hot and stuffy in a closed room like this, I guess I-_

"Hey?!" Kagami reacted, steping back.

Konata was putting on a black tank top.

"I-it _was_ a sports bra?!" Kagami shouted, half flushed from what she hoped was the heat, before suddenly covering her mouth.

"Oh, no need to worry, the walls are actually really soundproof."

"That… just raises even more questions…."

_It's also not the problem at all._

"As for the bra thing, don't tell anyone, no one has asked yet, it's a lot cooler too, so-"

"Stop!" Kagami said, palm firmly fixed to her face. "I don't want to know, just show me what you were going to show me."

_It looked so nice on her I didn't want to think it actually was..._

Removing an uncomfortable, sweaty palm from her face, Kagami took in the room.

_I've only been in here a few times before. It's still packed with walls of anime merch and manga I don't recognize. Some of it in doubles._

_Sure it's weirdly admirable how much effort she put into this, but this had to cost a small fortune, and couldn't she put that better to her studi-_

"Onii-chan, you can't, not there!"

"Mia, I'm sorry, I can't stop my hips!"

Kagami's head snapped to Konata's monitor was lit with a half pixelated image of a black-haired haired girl having-

" _Gwah?!_ " Kagami shouted at the uncomfortable sight, falling backward onto Konata's bed.

"Oh right, Duel Savior, I need to give that back to dad at some point. _Save and quit_."

"What the heck was that?!" Kagami demanded, clumsily raising herself to her feet.

"Oh sorry, I left it on last night and just turned my monitor off, completely slipped my mind."

"No I mean-I, nevermind, just show me what it is you want to show me already…" Kagami said, visibly defeated

_I know she feels strangely comfortable about this kind of stuff, but would it kill her to show some_ _tact… Well, I guess this is part of her being so frank… I guess..._

Konata did something, closing out to the home screen of her computer, covered in colorful icons covering up a beautiful looking green hill.

Clicking on the Blue E looking one Konata-

The screen was covered in a decidedly not pixelated video of a man and a woman-

" _Goddammit,_ Konata can you stop with the porn?!" Kagami shouted, slowly developing a scalp to shoulder blush.

"Oh, sorry about that too. Last night Patty was showing me how easy it is to find the uncensored stuff from Engl-" Konata suddenly stopped as Kagami put her hands Konata's shoulder.

"I'm gonna say this once okay? _I don't want to know these things._ Got it?" Kagami said, though not quite convincingly due to her lack of eye contact.

_I… kinda want to know what she was looking at, but this isn't the time or place…_

"Sorry, didn't realize it would get to you, but I honestly didn't plan for that."

_It's not so much that it got to me as much as the thought that you are looking at porn…_

Clicking and typing her way away from that, Konata pulled up something with the words OK GO above it alongside a bunch of other English words Kagami couldn't parse. There were four men in pretty clothes on treadmills.

_God this looks really simple. Shouldn't high school English have taught me enough to get this… Also before I forget-_

"If there is any nudity in this you are giving me your express consent to punch you this time, alright?"

_Why am I such close friends with this dork?_

"Don't worry, you are gonna love it!" Konata said as she stabbed down on a key, starting the video.

* * *

"Okay, so what is the significance of this Rick Astley guy again?"

_Or that screwy video with the guy saying_ 'all your base' _in broken English over and over again, for that matter._

"So, people post links to him, and disguise it as other things and then people freak out when it's just this old cruddy pop song instead!"

Kagami stopped for a second, thinking of the logistics of that.

"But how would they even see it, most phones can't handle video, much less streaming video, and not everyone owns a computer like you do."

Konata scratched her head, unsure how to reply to that.

"Maybe I should go ask Patty, she'd probably have a better answer. Maybe it's an American thing." Konata said.

_It's kinda cute seeing her get so worked up over this, but that was something I just can't help but like about her. The way she tries so hard to share and fully enjoy things. I guessed this was how she avoided being a loner all these years._

Before either of them could really consider if they wanted to ask Patty about this, a loud knock came a the door.

"Hey, you two decent in there?" Yui shouted through the door.

_Apparently, Konata wasn't kidding about the soundproofing_.

_...Decent?_

"Yeah, just let me put some pants on!" Konata shouted.

Kagami reflexively punched Konata in the arm. Konata just grinned through the pain.

"Just come in before she says anything else weird," Kagami said, gauging how loudly she needed to speak.

The door clicked open, and in stepped Yui-san, wrapped in a full-length towel.

"Well, you two shouldn't be decent. Bath's open. Meanwhile, I gotta hit the road," Yui said, rubbing the towel on her head into her scalp.

_Wait she's leaving?_

Kagami looked to the clock on Konata's computer screen.

"Woah, why is it 7:30?!"

"Kagami, we've been watching these things for the past 6 hours, you didn't notice?"

"No, I mean, _wow_. Tell Patty this stuff is a little too addictive."

"I know right?" Konata said, enthusiasm plain on her face.

"Hate to interrupt, but can you two get in already? The water won't stay hot forever, you know."

_What?_

"Us both?" Kagami's eyes widened a little as she felt a slight discomfort in the pit of her stomach.

"Sure, why not. No reason why we can't, 'specially since Dad'll be stuck with a bit less than lukewarm water if we go separately," Konata said as if it were the most-

_No._

_Kagami, that_ is _the most natural thing in the world. Quit being weird._

"Well, let's get moving Kagami, don't have all night," Konata said, quickly gathering up a fresh set of pajamas as Kagami awkwardly shuffled the bag she brought with her.

_I honestly hadn't even considered if the "shared bath for warm water" policy we use at home would apply here as well. I mean there are four people living here, plus Yui._

_And besides, you take baths with Tsukasa all the time, why is this bothering you now of all times?_

Huffing to join Konata as she waltzed down the hall, Kagami took careful steps, looking over Konata for no other reason than… her eyes just settling there.

Stepping into the changing room and shutting the door, the smell of damp air was obvious as Konata began to-

Kagami looked away, making a point of turning so they weren't facing one another.

_It's a natural reaction, we don't need… aren't supposed to… aren't_ here to _look anyway._

"So, wait, wouldn't you normally take these with Yutaka-chan? Maybe Patty-chan?" Kagami said, distracting herself with logistics as she pensively unbuttoned her blouse

"Nah, Yutaka says it makes her feel ' _more like an adult_ ' to do it herself, so she has insisted on going alone for a long time," Konata said, shirt casually flying past Kagami into the washer with practiced grace.

"Isn't she, like, 17?" Kagami asked incredulously, trying to get her mind elsewhere. "A little old to be thinking about that kind of adulting don't you think?"

"Turned 18 in December actually."

_I… can hear_ her clothes coming _off of her…._

"As for Patty," Konata said, unmentionables coming past next. "Ever since she read this book 'A Guide to Taking a Bath Like a Japanese Person', she's been obsessed with the quiet contemplation part of bathing. We talk entirely too much to let her 'Contemplate life's great mysteries' to her taste, so she started insisting on doing it alone."

Kagami swallowed.

_I want out of this, this doesn't feel right. But… it really shouldn't? Well, I-I guess there isn't much I can do at this stage without making myself look weird. Nothing really else to do but to finish undressing and joi-_

Kagami nearly jumped out of her skin, to Konata's audible delight, as Konata teased the small of Kagami's back, commanding Kagami to turn to-

"Common, time's a-wastin'! Not gonna stay hot for the others forever you know. " Konata said playfully, turning around to stride into the waiting bathroom.

_I… I saw her… She really is still that flat, or... I guess it is just genetics. … and then she turned around. She has a dimple on it... That's cute as hell. But Konata is-_

Kagami punched herself in the jaw painfully, fist connecting with bone.

Forcibly emptying her head Kagami remembered at the last moment to untie her twintails, stepping into the entryway.

Kagami's entire body was hit with damp air all at once before she closed the door behind her

Kagami tried to take up the empty washing seat as casually as she was capable of.

_Nothing remotely unusual._

_This isn't even the first time you've seen another girl naked, much less Konata naked before._

_What could possibly have changed since- no, nothing has changed._

"Sooo, I was thinking." Konata sat uncomfortably close on the edge of the bath, feet planted firmly on a non slip mat outside it. "In anime, whenever a character gets into the bath, it always ends up becoming this weird mix of fanservice and normal relaxation, quiet time and all that. You know what I mean?"

Kagami began to shower off, cognizant of Konata's idle, innocent gaze as she sat entirely too close.

"Uh, not really. Most of the shows I've watched don't really do that much."

"Well, how about the LNs you read, Kagami?"

"Oh those, they have a bit of nudity in them from time to time, but it's usually pretty considered… except when it's really not at all…" Kagami ran her fingers through her hair, massaging the shampoo into her scalp.

_Sometimes I feel like I get the Monogatari series, sometimes I don't..._

"Right right, you know how everyone just sorta sits around and relaxes for a while, but only the girls ever seem to be indulged in? With the guys it's always them sitting around, thinking. What's up with that?"

Konata dramatically raised an arm to emphasize her point.

"Why can't the guys have a little more fanservice? _Equal opportunity_!"

" _Equal opportunity?"_ Kagami questioned the girl's sudden English phrase as Kagami rinsed the shampoo from her hair.

"Where in the world did you-" Kagami looked away from Konata , suddenly turning her head back when she saw. "- pick up a phrase like that?"

"Internet! You can learn a lot about obscure subjects there, you know."

_And see a lot of indecent things, apparently… But… as for her question..._

"Right… hmm, maybe it's the kinds of shows you watch. Try asking Patty for pointers? She seems more acquainted with stuff written… uh… for girls." Kagami tactfully avoided Patty's known interest in…

_Yaoi? Boy's Love? I don't know the difference is and I don't care_ to _know._

_I don't know why I keep indulging Konata on weird subjects, but if it's on her mind, it's only right to help her, right?_

"Hmm, you might be right, but it's weird, you know?"

"What's weird?" Kagami asked, regretfully.

"In anime, they normally avoid nudity outside of the DVD and BD release and OVAs, but isn't that, like, part of the experience?" Konata shifted in her seat, taking care not to slip backward into the tub as she inched slightly closer to Kagami.

"I'm not sure I follow what you mean by that." Kagami threw the wash basin's contents over herself, committing to one last rinse with the handheld showerhead.

"I mean it's always covered up by something. Isn't it just normal, like supremely Japanse, to be comfortable with nudity like this? It's just a bath, but you almost never see nudity like that when it's not done for fanservice." Konata said.

"I mean, I turn and there you are, Kagami, showering off before the bath. B-cup and pubic hair in plain view, sitting pretty like it's the most normal thing in the-"

Kagami clubbed Konata over the head with the shower head with a gentle thud. Thankfully remembering to hold back at the last second from previous experience, a blush developed over Kagami from scalp to shoulders as she wordlessly climbed into the bath, sinking herself into the water.

" _Owwww…_ Kagami, you didn't have to _hit_ me… Message received. Much as I love that tsundere side, Kagami doesn't appreciate brutally specific honestly." Konata winced, rubbing her head as she held her eyes closed in pain.

Kagami painfully tried to suck in a breath, mouth sealed shut.

_No, it's not that, I love that about you it's just… what… what is it just…?_

Kagami sank her head beneath the water, seemingly cooler than her head.

* * *

Lying in her favorite green pajamas, Kagami struggled to find any sleep, looking over at the illuminated digital clock to see it was already 3 AM.

_It's not just the heat._

_It's not just Konata's snoring on the futon on the floor..._

_It's not… just sleeping in someone else's home, or in their bed for that matter…_

_What is bothering me so much?_

_Is it really Konata? Being so close to her? How she talks?_

Kagami turned over to look at the girl when she noticed something.

It wasn't a sight or sound, but a _smell._

_This room…this bed... it even_ smells _like her…_

_It's not unpleasant, or anything strange… it's just… the natural smell of a person._

_I noticed a long time ago I could smell the difference between the my sister's rooms, and the clothes they wore. That's just part of being close to someone, I guess._

_So, evidently, I even know what Konata_ smells like _..._

Kagami turned back over yet again in Konata's bed, noticing her pillow smelled the same and even faintly of the scented shampoo Konata was using.

_Vanilla..._

Kagami took the pillow out from under her head, holding at arm's length in front of her face.

_I can't stand being around her… but all the same, I can't get enough of it._

_I… reacted like that to her, I've wanted to spend all this time with her, find her fun despite her faults._

_I enjoy spending time with her, but being so close to her made me anxious, thrice so when she was naked. Even now it makes me anxious._

_She's outgoing and means well, she's annoying and brash, she says anything on her mind, absolutely anything, she's passionate and witty, she's uncompromising and weird, she's always showing me the funnest things…_

_Why her…_

Kagami swung a closed fist at the pillow, weeping silently as she did, as the facts of the matter came into focus.

_When did this happen?!_

_Why?!_

_When did I start loving her?!_


	4. A Confession to Make

**Sunday, August 22th, 2010**

**27 Months after Graduation**

**7 PM**

"I just really like her, you know?" Kagami said, scratching the back of her head as she spoke.

"I'd like to spend a lot more time with her if she'd let me, or we could find the time. But who am I kidding, I live in Tokyo now. How would that even work?" Running her hand through her hair, Kagami coiled it around her fingers, words beginning to shake.

"Do you think I should just… ask her out?" Kagami stammered out the words. Just trying to say them at all. " _Sheeyeah_ —right. Like I could just ask another girl out like that."

"Maybe I should try asking her if we can hang out more _?_ Would that be weird? I don't want to look like I'm obsessed with her or anything."

"Maybe I should take her to the beach before the summer is out. I'd kill to see her in a bikini."

Kagami's leaned forward carefully shifting her weight onto the desk beside her, the idea seemingly distracting her from elaborating.

"Uh! Not in a weird way or anything!" Kagami said, suddenly waving her arms about before her, backpedaling the implication.

"I'd just like to see her in something other than that school swimsuit she still keeps around. That sounds really nice. "

"Even if wearing that thing is really like her; she still weirds people out waltzing around in that."

Kagami's eyes slowly wandered, settling off to the side in a wistful expression.

"I'd probably weird people out too if I showed interest in her, huh? What would I even tell people? That we're dating?"

Kagami resisted to the urge to press her forehead against the glass in front of her.

"You can't help me with this, you're a goldfish."

Kagami let out a defeated sigh to her roommate Gyupi, a conversation partner like no other.

_Literally, there is no other. God, it's lonely in here._

Kagami stepped away from the room-dominating 40-gallon fish tank. Swimming happily inside was her very own Gyupi, more than ten times the size of that tiny goldfish net she caught him in a few years ago.

"Sorry I talk your gills off like this, Gyupi," Kagami said, reaching up to sprinkle a few flakes of his favorite food into the crystal clear water.

Kagami smiled, tilting her head at her friend as he leapt into action.

"I hope you're happy living in there. Sometimes I don't know if your tank is really really big, or this room is just that small."

Kagami turned to look at the lack of floor space, the microwave taking up the top of the mini fridge so she still had a spot of counter space.

_I guess both can be true…_

With a resigned yawn and a stretch, Kagami paced as far as she could, a meager eight steps, and walked back, unsure what to do with the rest of her night.

_Maybe I should head across the hall and make some food. Study isn't healthy if you aren't eating right after all. Gives me an excuse to leave my room… I mean my apartment._

Kagami scowled.

_God this place is small..._

A bathroom, tiny fridge, a bed, desk, Gyupi's tank, and an increasingly large collection of expensive law books. It was enough Kagami could at least get by with her laptop, but an obvious step down from her previous standard of living.

_Ugh, I can't stand being cooped up in here. Still, nothing compared to the hell that was getting into the Tokyo U law program. Gonna be a long time before I can trade up for a bigger apartment, though..._

Kagami sighed.

_Sometimes I wonder what possessed me to try and be become a lawyer…_

Kagami paced back to her desk, covered in thick law books.

_Some part of me wishes I hadn't gone with a futon instead of a bed just to have space to roll my chair around…_

Even though she had to leave most of her books with her parents, most of the shelf space was covered in paperwork and books. One book stood out among her favorites.

Pulling out the unnecessarily tall book, Kagami stared at the cover for a moment.

_Umi to Umi_. Umi and the Sea—that or Umi _and_ Umi depending on how you read the kanji.

Kagami had secretly purchased it at summer Comiket the year prior.

_Man, I still can't believe I bought something so scandalous. Right under Konata's nose too. It was just sitting unsold in stacks at a Comiket booth. I just couldn't let someone else so passionate about my favorite book just sit with unsold copies._

Chucking at the memory, she flipped through it past the words "The Grass is Bluer on the Other Side Fan Comic".

Taking a seat on her bed, Kagami for the first time tonight relaxed, shoulders slowly untensing.

_I could never get into these sorts of things, fancomics and all, but Umi-chan looked so lonely on the cover. I was kinda naive to not know why she asked for my ID when I bought it, though..._

Kagami tiled back in her chair reminiscing as she looked at the rather lewd pages of the book.

_I could hardly stand to look at it when I first bought it. Just a few bare breasts and I was closing the blinds and locking the door. I can see that much in a mirror._

Kagami chuckled under her breath, continuing to leaf through the book for no other reason than to get her mind off of studying.

_At first, I just thought it was weird, but as I read it, I realized it was trying to talk about how changing his gender seriously affected their relationship, given its same sex. Even if it sorta assumed they were both into girls._

Kagami's eyes glazed for a moment, staring at the two kissing on the 20th page.

It would take her several months to admit to herself it was relatable, but she could probably credit her talks with Goldy to it at least.

_Two girls…_

Putting the comic away, Kagami looked to the only open spot on her bookshelf. It was the only space she could make since her desk was covered in law books. It wasn't so much open as much as it had no books on it. Only a photo frame sat there, taking up valuable shelf space.

This wasn't the nice professional looking one they sent their parents. No, this was the joke one they took afterword. This showed the real fun and excitement.

In the frame Kagami stood behind Konata, taking a group graduation photo with Tsukasa and Miyuki. They all clutched their diplomas, safely rolled up in their carrying tubes.

Konata was hugging Tsukasa from behind, overjoyed, Tsukasa was still crying in excitement, Miyuki's normally prim demeanor was caught grinning subtly, mid giggle, and Kagami stood behind Konata with her biggest smile as she gave Konata rabbit ears.

Kagami winced as she took in the happy memory.

_Do I... really want to be standing behind her my whole life?_

Kagami instinctively pictured Konata, smiling impishly.

_Could I… could we?_

Kagami looked out the window, dispirited look growing on her face.

She carefully put the picture back, getting out of her chair and flopping carelessly down onto the bed behind her.

_We… probably couldn't… I mean… what are the chances she's like me?_ She wondered.

_I just… I want to talk to her about it…_

Kagami reached over and took a pillow in her arms, hugging it tight.

_What would she even think about it if I just decided to tell her? She doesn't seem like the type to be homophobic or anything, it's just…_

Kagami rolled over, looking up at the picture frame.

"What if I lose what I already have with her?" Kagami whispered to herself.

_I just want to hang out with her, I just want to keep being her friend as long as I possibly can… I just… want her to know how much I care… I want to hold her in my arms and never let her go. I want her to be happy too…_

Kagami's arms strained to hold the pillow any tighter.

_Could she be happy with someone like me? We aren't very similar, but we've always had chemistry as friends… Is she even looking for someone else in her life? Would she care if it's a girl…_

Kagami tossed and turned, tears slowly starting to form on her face.

_Come on Kagami._

The little voice in her head spoke.

_Is this really what a_ lawyer _looks like? Crying when things get tough?_

Kagami rolled to her side, staring up at the picture.

_Being a lawyer requires the capacity to make tough decisions for the benefit of people's lives going forward. What was it that one lawyer guy in that game said? The toughest of times is when lawyers have to force their biggest smiles?_

Kagami widened her face, forcing her best smile. She tried to put as much honest desire to move forward in her eyes as she straightened her posture, wiping her face off as she did.

_A lawyer must be able to act quickly and decisively, while also making a solid plan of approach._

_If that means I need to just talk it over with her, it means I will._

Kagami stood up and picked up her phone, dialing up Konata's number.

Kagami ignored the deafening silences between dial tones as she waited for Konata to pick up.

"Yoooo, Kagami~. What's up?

Kagami swallowed, smiling at the sound of her voice.

"Can I come over to your house on… Sunday? I kinda wanted to hang out and talk, it's kinda cramped in this apartment lately."

Kagami deftly made up an excuse to hang out, not that she really needed one, just trying to ensure nothing got in her way, not even herself.

"Oh sorry! Comiket's this weekend; Patty and I will be out of town. Next weekend is kinda complicated as well. Can I raincheck to… uhhhhh, Sunday the 5th?"

Kagami resisted the urge to be taken aback, knowing that would accomplish nothing, and thought about it, looking at the calendar on her table.

"Yeah that'd be fine, you two enjoy yourselves!"

_I almost want to tell her not to go, but I can't take something like this away from her when she enjoys it so much. That just wouldn't be right._

"Wait, you wanna come with? We're gonna be camping out on site. I haven't done that in forever!"

Kagami put her face in her hand, smiling.

_This is so like her._

"Konata, I'm almost certain that's illegal under Tokyo law."

"Yeah, but so many people do it that as long as you are careful about it the cops won't bother you."

_Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make sure you stay safe._

"Well… if you say so. Just don't get in trouble, alright?" Kagami sighed.

_Her persistence in this is surprisingly endearing. I just wished she wouldn't go that far with it._

"Alright, see you next Sunday after next then! I'm sure I'll have plenty to show you! It's a date!"

"A date?!"

Konata hung up on her end just before Kagami actually spoke the words.

_Heh, quick to keep me from getting a word in edgewise. You phrased it like that to mess with me, didn't you?_

Kagami sat down, smiling as she took in the gravity of what she just set up, and the fact that she would have to wait nearly two weeks to see in through…

Kagami let out a breath, stretching in place, trying to do something with herself.

_Alright, guess I'm doing this the. Talking to her… about us._

"Well, standing around ain't gonna do me any good." Kagami resolutely decided.

"Maybe I could find some advice online or something…"

* * *

**Sunday, September 5th, 2010**

**Two Weeks Later**

**2 PM**

Kagami had spent the last couple weeks looking through forums on and off in her spare time, wondering how to approach confessing. What approach to take. She'd met and talked to a few interesting characters, who helped her come to the conclusion that she was probably okay telling her everything. The advice Kagami heard even had insisted more people were willing to experiment than societal norms would ever suggest, especially with close friends.

They assured her that even if she just says she's not interested in girls, at least she'll be more cognizant about Kagami's feelings.

_Alright, Kagami, just tell Konata that her actions had made you uncomfortable in the past, but not because you don't like her. Tell her you're interested in taking a step forward in our relationship if she's interested as well, but that staying the same is fine too. Our friendship is more important._

Kagami could see Konata's house in the distance.

_Konata is_ _laissez-faire_ _enough she'll probably not react poorly, at the very least, to the idea of being approached by a girl. And given the number of fun times we had together, she might very well be willing to experiment._ _I gotta try, at least..._

Kagami nervously knocked at the door, remembering to straighten up before seeing Konata came to greet her.

_Okay, just smile and be cool._

"Kagami! Come on in! Shame you missed Comiket last weekend. Come on up to my room! I gotta show you something I found!" Konata's expression glowed with her trademark jubilance, and with experience, Kagami could tell she was resisting the urge to jump around in excitement.

_She's in a good mood, I guess I picked the right day for this._

Kagami took off her shoes and put them next to the large red sneakers at the door.

_I can feel my heart tensing up._

Kagami stepped up, following Konata into the house

_Even if she isn't interested, that's okay. We can still be friends._

Konata turned around, her face virtually glowing with happiness as she dragged Kagami to the stairs.

_The people_ _you spoke with waiting for the happy news, or at least some closure, give them what they want._

Konata pranced up the stairs, while Kagami took each step decisively.

_Rejection isn't the end. Coming out to a close friend isn't the end of the world._

Konata opened the door to her bedroom.

_But even rejection is better than the pain of saying nothing._

Kagami stepped through the threshold and-

Sitting on Konata's bed was a young man with short, wavy brown hair, and a vaguely athletic build, no older than Kagami.

He smiled at Kagami with innocent, enthusiastic eyes, waving at her.

Kagami's shoulders slumped deeply.

Konata ran over to the man, tackling him as much as she hugged him, before turning around to give Kagami an enormous smile.

Kagami sharply sucked in a breath she didn't know she was holding until it hurt.

"Kagami! Look who got a boyfriend first!"

The world blurred.

Even many years later she could hardly remember the details.

She was introduced to what was by all accounts a nice young man named Hideki.

_They met at Comiket and… they seemed to really work together. The chemistry was obvious the moment he gave the exact same smile, hugging her back._

Konata told embarrassing tales of the past two weeks to a Kagami who was now only smiling at her best friend's happiness. How they met by chance because of a comic selling out. How they had been meeting up daily...

_Everything had supposedly been going amazingly. Konata had decided it best to keep it a surprise._

_They seemed… really happy together…_

_By all rights, things were going well, if a little fast, something they both freely admitted._

_Yeah, fast was the right word for it._

_It should have been obvious, she wasn't interested in me, in girls, but I was too self-centered to see it._

This was all Kagami could think as the buildings darted by her when she left that day.

Running from her problems.

Running was all she could do not to cry.

She wished she could just keep running forever but there were more important things on her plate.

Kagami returned to her apartment later that evening, checking her emails to find pages of unanswered mail from the people who given her advice. They were looking for updates.

Kagami looked at them an empty gaze, drafting a reply to them all.

"She's found someone else. I'm sorry I wasted your time. I have studying to do."

Kagami clicked through the settings on that account and muted it.


	5. Homecoming

**December 25th, 2020, Present Day**

**Christmas Day**

**2 PM**

Kagami stepped forward, carefully propping the door open to keep the wine bottle in her grocery bag from knocking into the door **.**

_Just shake it off, I know you are nervous, but spending all day reminiscing about high school troubles is just gonna make you even more anxious._

"You get the stuff?" Konata said, turning the corner out of their shared room. Konata took the heavy bag from her, setting it down on the floor to rifle through its contents.

"Lay off the snacks for now, you. Picked a movie and thought we could- _hey!_ "

Konata unwrapped a freshly baked choco-cornet, not wasting time as she tore it in half to eat it most effectively.

"Ugh... I know those things are your favorite, but I had to go to 3 different bakeries to find one that still had any this late in the afternoon!" Kagami crossed her arms, smiling at her as she spoke. "At least savor the thing. For me?"

Hearing the words 'for me' apparently was enough to get Konata to slow down, taking her time as she took a bite of the now chocolate dipped tail. A visible shiver ran up her back as she appreciated the fresh baked taste.

"I don't know how the heck you maintain a body that toned when you eat like you do," Kagami said, unconsciously poked at that the uncomfortable pudge at her thigh.

_That said, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little glad you can do that without getting fat like me. Don't exactly make it healthy just how much you eat though. I'd have to cold-turkey you on snacks to get you to stop those...  
_

"Pretty sure it's genetic, a tradeoff for being so tiny," Konata said, savoring the snack with another delighted, cream-filled bite. "Going running in the mornings helps too, but it sucks when it's too icy to actually do it. It makes you feel like you've lost your groove."

Kagami smirked, shifting her weight and knocking snow off her boots.

"Tell that to someone who didn't just walk back and forth across town for the past three hours while you were wrapped up in a blanket!" Kagami said, pulling off her snow boots.

Reaching out, Konata proudly grinned, pointing the head of the cornet at Kagami.

"It just means _you_ get to know even better the joy of being wrapped up in a blanket with your _girlfriend_ , doesn't it?" Konata said, swallowing a bite to give a heart melting smile.

Kagami stared blankly.

"My heart is literally frozen solid right now _,_ gonna have to do better than that," Kagami said, handing over the heavy bag on her arm. "If you wanna try and play my emotions, be a good girlfriend and put the groceries away."

"Such a realist, but that _does_ make living with you a smooth experience," Konata said, hefting the plastic bag off the floor. "By the way, wine, Kagami?"

Kagami looked away, seemingly hiding her face as she spoke.

"I thought tonight we could do something special for Christmas, have a nice fancy dinner. Maybe we should break out those nice dresses we got back in September," Kagami said, putting her coat up on the rack.

"Fancy dinner?" Konata shot across the oom across the room, laughing as she unpacked the back. " You brought me ingredients for fried chicken!"

Kagami shot back an exasperated sigh, forcing out a reply.

"I-it was the most obvious thing, considering it's Christmas, a-and I couldn't find the right ingredients to make anything better considering the holiday rush _and_ find your cornets without leaving town entirely..." Kagami stammered, trying to come up with a good reason they were eating fried chicken today of all days other than-

"You don't need to tell me you just wanted to get inside, it's cold out there! Besides, I was just teasing," Konata said, giggling and waving a hand back and forth dismissively as she finished unpacking the back.

_I don't know why I still react like that. The mysteries of relationships right there, I guess._

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, it actually sounds pretty tasty. Enjoying the food is probably a better choice, right?" Kagami said, stretching as she walked through the living room to the kitchen. "Especially when you make it with so much love, Konata."

"And cayenne pepper!" Konata said, waving about her personal secret ingredient.

Kagami nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders.

_Girl can't balance a checkbook, but she can cook. I'm scared of what's become of her dad_ _since she moved out. Without his personal chef- I mean his_ daughter _around to make him something other than cup ramen…_

Kagami smirked at herself.

_Definitely the right call to let her cook at the party last night. I could swear saw the man cry seeing his daughter cook for him again._

"Anyway," Kagami said, holding up a bluray case reading _Pulp Fiction_ as she walked through the living room. "I picked up an old American crime drama for us tonight. Clerk at the counter said this is an 'ultimate Tarantino classic', whatever that means. Said he was amazed I'd never heard of it considering how many American crime movies I rent."

"Oh, I think I've heard of this one!" Konata said, rushing around the corner excitedly. "A guy gets he head splattered all over the back of-"

"Stop!" Kagami protested, waving her free arm about as she loaded the disk. "Don't spoil it for me, this actually looks good!"

"Alright, alright, but I get the feeling we're gonna like this one," Konata said, flopping down onto the couch with a characteristically small thud, pulling a blanket around herself.

"Definitely," Kagami said, pulling the oversized blanket over herself as well as she curled into her usual place on Konata's shoulder.

"You know, this will at least help you get your mind off of the fried chicken thing," Konata said, rubbing her head into Kagami's.

"Oh quiet, you. It will be delicious at least, knowing your skills," Kagami contested, starting the movie from beneath the blanket.

"Yeah, you can do an American breakfast~" Konata teased, leaning her head atop Kagami's beside her. "Can't cook anything else, can you. You _westaboo~_ "

_What in the world is a westaboo? Sounds English, but I don't know… Not that's she's wrong about cooking. I ate out enough to make my wallet cry in college, it was convenience store food.  
_

_I couldn't cook in high school, college, or right now._

Kagami sighed, watching silently as the movie began.

_College, huh?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Word from the Author:
> 
> Hello there! I hope you've been enjoying Kagami's life and times as much as I did planning and writing it.
> 
> Unfortunately due to the realities of writing as well as the schedules of my beta readers I'll be reducing from 2 chapters a week to 1 starting next week.
> 
> I know may have been wondering why I seemingly slowed down my updates, but rest assured, I will remain consistent and to that end:
> 
> I will be committing to uploading a new chapter every Sunday.
> 
> I assure you will not affect story quality if anything it will allow me much more time to polish each chapter as the themes and plot develop.
> 
> In the off event I miss Sunday because I felt it was not ready, I will do everything in my power to get that chapter out on Monday morning.
> 
> I hope you understand that I and the people helping me need more time to get this into shape.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading my silly little story.
> 
> PS. Chapter 6 will two days after I upload this if not the day after I upload this, as we return to the life and times of Hiiragi Kagami: College Student.


	6. Forward Thinking

**Thursday, August 30th, 2011**

**1 Year After** _**that** _ **Day**

**8 PM**

Kagami carefully stepped over a bag of laundry thrown into the middle of the already tight real estate that was her floor space, her cup noodles finally ready to eat.

_I don't know if I should be glad, or upset that I don't have enough clothes to fill another one… I should get dressed._

Kagami sighed, shoulders drooping with a lack of enthusiasm.

_What is the point this late at night? It's not like I have any night classes today._

Taking up a spot on the sleeping half of her bed, Kagami nestled against a pile of law books collectively bigger than she was.

Kagami groaned, realizing her mistake.

_You'd think I'd have learned to put things down first after living here this long..._

Sitting up, Kagami leaned over dangerously far to her desk to place the cup carefully atop a thick textbook and coaster, careful not to spill them yet again.

Retying her haphazard ponytail, Kagami leaned in to press _play_ on her laptop. After all, without it up and out of her eyes she couldn't see her minimum budget entertainment.

_Okay… where was I?_

_Kagami's eyes rolled over, trying to recall._

_I think that guy's not actually a member of the mob, he's actually a cop… or something…_

Rubbing her temples to alleviate the constant eye strain of studying, Kagami struggled to remember. She could recall that the guy at the video store said it was saying about this movie being good.

_I remember it had been pretty interesting so far, but even with just a few college English course, I can tell these subtitles were a rush job._

Kagami groaned.

_I don't know if I can get back into this movie again..._

Not knowing what else to do with her night, Kagami looked about her cluttered room.

There was trash bag she hadn't had time to move, her mini fridge was depressingly close to empty, but at least Gyupi's immaculately maintained tank was shining a cheery blue light on the whole affair.

Kagami sighed.

_I don't expect Gyupi to have anything to say about it… Hmm... maybe Konata does~_

Kagami looked over to the bookshelf, thinking back for a moment when she spotted it.

"Wait, when did it fall over?"

Kagami saw the picture frame flat on its face, still in its own dedicated bookshelf space.

Trying to reach over and correct it, just around Gyupi's tank, Kagami for a brief moment wished this room were slightly smaller, before using the nearby desk to leverage herself to her feet.

Taking the picture off its face and into in her hands, Kagami flashed a snarky smile at her friend.

"Heh. You takking tsu me?" Kagami quoted in a butchered American accent.

"You takking tsu _me?_ " She said, recalling the pose he took.

"Cause' der ain'to anybody else here."

The picture stared back happily, failing to give a snarky reply.

Kagami frowned, putting it back.

"My Engulishu is bad anyway…"

Kagami crossed her arms, trying to smile sardonically.

_Okay… don't even joke about that. You talk to a goldfish, you'll talk to a picture of your friend_ _if you let yourself start… Sometimes I'm scared I'm just obsessed with her, not actually in love..._

Kagami had taken a minor in English in hopes she'd have a better time with movies and books, but, she hardly had the time for any self-study, outside of the occasional movie.

_Language learning takes a lot more immersion than people give credit. It's amazing how everyone can be surrounded by so much English and hardly even know any… I just wish I had more time for that or any of my hobbies for that matter. I haven't even touched a light novel in months, only read about them online..._

Kagami put her hands in her pockets, defeated, before pulling out her flip phone.

The LCD read August 30th.

_Already been a whole year, but it still doesn't feel real. What does Konata think she's doing…_

Kagami put her hand around her chin and began to pace into the kitchenette, knowing perfectly how not to stub her toe on the step up to the kitchen tile.

_I wonder why Konata never invited me to Comiket this year…_

Kagami removed her hand, crossing her arms.

_Oh right, she's involved with that guy, how could I possibly forget…_ Kagami thought sarcastically.

Kagami ran her fingers through her hair if anything just to do something with them.

_A whole year..._

Not even three months after Konata met Hideki, Konata had dropped out of college to move in with Hideki in Yokohama. All the way to the other side of Tokyo.

Kagami's eyes focused, brows burrowing between her eyes as intense feelings bubbled to the surface.

_God, I can still feel the heat on my skin from being so furious with her! She hadn't even known him half a year yet and they were already moving in with each other! What the_ hell?!

Kagami kicked the laundry bag, sending it flying briefly across the room and sending Gyupi fleeing into his castle.

_Where do you get off saying you "aren't really going anywhere with school" anyway?! Cutting into your relationship time?! What about everyone else!?_

Kagami scowled, letting the heat simmer off for a moment as she reached out to console her cowering pet.

_There I go getting mad and hitting things again…_

"Sorry, Gyupi... I didn't mean to scare you... please come out." Kagami said, to no avail; Gyupi only briefly poking his head out to the gesture before hiding again.

Kagami's face tightened guiltily.

_It's not like I'm free of blame here, but I'm not sure who I blame more. Konata for making such an asinine decision, Hideki for_ letting _her make it, or me for not keeping in contact enough to object before she finalized the decision._

Kagami's eyes fixed to tile at her feet, unsure what to think anymore.

_From the half a dozen times I met the guy, I'm sure his love for her is more than skin de_ _ep, but that way he holds onto her is just so..._

Kagami's eyes drifted to the side as if trying to ignore her own thoughts.

_It's just… You rushed into this relationship so fast it might have hurt your future, girl…_

Kagami wandered back took a seat on her began idly smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheets with her hands.

_I just want to talk this over with you. I don't know how I would do it, but I want to try. But how can I when you hardly respond to my texts anymore… You haven't tried to reach out to me in months._

Kagami leaned sideways uncomfortably, without a nearby wall to put her weight on.

_I know it's just because you two are really focusing on your relationship, but I can't help but be worried._

It seemed like Kagami wasn't the only one being ignored. Tsukasa said she was receiving fewer and fewer texts from Konata anymore, same with Kou and Misao.

_I even heard second hand your otaku friends are hearing less and less of you... Konata I thought I could think of us as closer friends than this, but… knowing I'm not being singled out here does help at least._

Kagami put her face into her hands

_It's not like I can really complain. I'm too busy to stay in constant contact with anyone either. Not if I want to actually be able to practice law before I'm_ _28_ _._

"Still," Kagami said aloud if only to hear someone. "You could at least respond to some of those months old texts, Konata…"

Opening up her phone again, her heart ached a little as she took in her phone background, at a picture she took with the short weirdo. Kagami couldn't remember where or when it was taken, other than during high school.

Kagami raised her head, straightening her back.

_It's not like there is anything I can really do. I'm just gonna drive myself insane if I dwell on it._

Kagami sighed as she looked at the sad state of her desk. Books three layers deep, and a forgotten cup of noodles.

Kagami grabbed the cup and held it. It had long since cold, her movie played unwatched in the background.

_I know I have better things to do than think about it I just..._

_I… I just want to hear your voice again… I want to know you're doing well..._


	7. Old Friends

**Sunday, January 22nd, 2012**

**5 Months Later**

**6 PM**

Kagami looked over her shoulder, careful not to spill her depressingly expensive latte. Behind her was the CAFE sign, stuck broadly across the wall in big blue English letters.

_The sign is just sort of a constant here, isn't it?_

Kagami laughed to herself, setting down her prized drink.

_I can't help but giggle at how matter-of-fact a lot of English signage has started to feel since I started studying the language. Like people just want to sound smart or something.  
_

Kagami crossed her arms, satisfied with her own brilliance.

She'd come to the Good Morning Cafe for the same reason she always did; to spend money she didn't have because staying in that tiny apartment surrounded by law books was going to drive her insane if she kept it up.

_Not really much of a cafe though. I mean, this latte is about the most "coffee house" thing this place has,_ Kagami thought recalling the English definition being closer to 'coffeehouse' than 'restaurant that happens to serve coffee'. _Least their sandwiches and drinks are nice._

_Nothing like walking off the train and deciding, "I'm an adult, and I'm gonna go out to eat like an adult today!" instead of going back to a cramped apartment..._

Kagami smiled sardonically.

"I am become adult, watcher of budgets."

Kagami laughed, leaning back as she took another sip of her liquid pick-me-up.

_I really should be studying for that final, but that can wait until I've at least finished the last of this thing. Not on my budget, but definitely in my belly. Exactly what I need on a cold winter day._

Just beginning to knock back another bitter, warming sip, Kagami saw her phone vibrate on the table with an incoming text.

_Probably another sales thing. I wish they would stop… wait. Huh? Isn't that a Saitama area code? Guess I should check it. Maybe Tsukasa lost her phone again._

Flipping her phone open, she found the number to belong to-

… _Patricia Martin?_

Kagami cocked an eyebrow, the name having not come up in years.

_The exchange student? Is she still living in Saitama? I'd have thought she would have moved home by now. I mean she's in her early twenties like me at this point. You'd think her parents would miss their daughter being away for more than six years._

Kagami tilted her head back, scratching it as she recalled the short haired girl.

_Oh right, I think Konata mentioned something about this. About Patricia_ _extending her stay_ _with the Izumi's when received an offer for a cultural scholarship._ Her _of all people got a_ free ride _,_ and _for_ cultural arts _. Little miss yaoi. Guess it shows you can't judge a book by its cover, I guess._

Kagami pondered the absurdity of Patricia's life situation for a moment until her eyes ran across the message itself.

'Hey there Kagami, long time no talk! I know this is a bit serious sounding, but can you please call me when you get a chance? It's important. I know we never talked much, so this must sound a little weird, but-'

Kagami's neck stiffened, hands clamping down on her phone.

'-it's about Konata-chan.'

_It's about Konata? Wha-what's that supposed to mean? Did something happen? Is she all right?!_

Not taking the time to think, Kagami left the rest of her coffee and walked up to the bartender, telling her she just got an important call and to put her order on her tab.

With a nod from the short-haired woman, Kagami zipped up her heavy winter coat and stepped outside, ringing the bell on the door as she pushed. Thankfully, the snow from last night had long since stopped, leaving only piles of partially shoveled white powder.

Keying up the number and ignoring the wind, Kagami tensely tapped her booted foot at the dial tone.

"Kagami-chan! Long time no talk, how you bee-"

" _What happened!?_ "

Kagami clasped a gloved hand over her mouth, having spoken out of turn.

"Oh, Konata-chan?" Patricia said, accent making it difficult to tell if she ignored the misstep or was addressing it. "She's okay. She's, well, she's moved back home."

Kagami's balance weakened; her face drooped.

"Patricia, did something happen? W-why is she not telling me this herself!?"

There was an eerie quiet as Patricia made some kind of noise, apparently considering the question.

_Please just answer the-_

"Wow, Kagami-chan. Perceptive! Sorry for not getting to the point faster, but it sounds like you want to know the details. I was only being asked to relay to friends that she was back in town, but you sound super concerned right now."

Patricia spoke in her usual strangely intonated voice.

_Your accent is so grating right now! Don't give me the roundabout!_

Kagami winced at her own internal monologue.

_I-I, can't believe I'd react like that..._

"I'm, sorry for snapping at you, Patricia. You just, you called me up out of the blue about this, and I was worried something bad might have happened."

"Well, you aren't really wrong that something bad happened." Patricia, accent still emotionally inscrutable.

Kagami felt a cold sweat come on, face tightening. Seizing the initiative, Kagami spoke.

"Why did Konata move back?" Kagami said, starting as almost a whisper, and ending on a resolute question. It was at that moment that the gears began to turn.

"Konata and Hideki, they broke up last month. She's been delaying getting in contact with friends about her return home, so her dad and I decided to do it for her."

Kagami's eyes went wide. She'd long since forgotten the cold, struggling not to snap back at her with a sharp question of what he might have done to her.

"Last month?!" Kagami reacted, pausing if only to keep her composure. "D-did something happens between them?"

"Well, sorta? They realized things weren't working out and, well, they decided to go their separate ways."

"Particulars? Details? Why did they break up a whole month ago?! I'm only hearing this now?!" Kagami insisted, her voice more scared than forceful.

The line went silent for a moment, Patricia apparently pondering the question.

"Kagami, can I ask something of you?" Patricia said, uncharacteristically seriously. "Will you ask Konata that question yourself when she's ready?"

_I knew it!_

"Something _did_ happen!" Kagami nearly shouted, glad there was no one nearby.

"Look, Kagami-chan. She's fine for now, I assure you. She's moved back and adjusted well to living at home again, I've personally made sure of that. I'm sorry if I concerned you with anything I said, but Konata needs some time." Patricia sighed, some obvious strain audible even through her bizarre accent.

"I didn't intend on telling more than she was back in town," Patricia continued. "I'm really sorry if this makes you feel like you aren't doing anything, but I just need you to know that she really is fine. Believe me, I've known her as long as you have."

She wasn't wrong. Maybe not chronologically, but she'd lived under the same roof with Konata for years.

_Some part of me is envious, but this isn't the time._

"She still talks about you, Kagami-chan. She still talks about everyone, but you quite a lot. She just needs some time alone is all."

Kagami let out a ragged breath, holding a gloved hand to her windbitten face.

_This is too much to take… I suppose I should just wait until I have a better chance, talk to he when she's ready like Patricia suggested… At least I know she's okay._

"Th-thank you for calling to tell me this," Kagami spoke, her voice wavering between relief and weariness. "Whenever she's ready… tell her I'm… honestly, I want to say confused and sad, but if she needs time she can… she can have it."

Kagami struggled to let out a coherent thought, the words seemingly spilling out on their own.

"Patricia… _Patty_ … It's nice talking to you again," Kagami said, being careful not to shoot the messenger. "I miss talking to everyone with all this studying. Also, tell her I'm- _we_ all care for her. We're there if she needs someone. I just wish I could talk to her right now is all."

"You bet I can, _girlfriend_ _!"_ Patty said, accenting with a drop of unnecessary English. "She'll be right as rain in no time, trust me on that!"

"Thanks… bye, Patty..."

"Bye girl!"

The line closed with a beep, leaving Kagami to her thoughts. Kagami flipped her phone closed with a flick of her wrist, letting out a breath of hot white air into the biting cold.

She hoped she didn't sound like she was trying to catch Konata on the rebound, or at least Kagami thought that until she shook the silly idea from her head.

_Why did I react so poorly when something clearly happened to her? That wasn't the time for that._

It was at that moment Kagami noticed she had started to cry at some point during that call.

Wiping the tears from her face, Kagami shivered, not at the cold, but at her somewhat misplaced joy.

_I know I shouldn't be glad anything happened between those two, and it's gonna be hard waiting for a chance to talk to her…_

_But I miss my friends..._


	8. The Day that Never Ended

**Saturday September 7th, 2013**

**20 Months Later**

**11 AM**

 

Kagami yawned, stretching her arms outward the same way she always did to avoid punching the stacks of books against the wall holding her bedsheets down.

Swiping the the touch screen on her phone, probably the most expensive thing she owned short of her aging laptop, Kagami silenced her dumb alarm tone for the third time this morning.

Kagami silenced her phone’s alarm with an awkward swipe, unused to touchscreens.

_I swear this thing’s alarms are designed to be catchy at first, but annoying later. Guh… all of the available alarms tones I’ve tried are like that._

Kagami groaned, sitting up to rub her eyes.

 _Too bad I can’t sync that clock to my internal one. I just wanted to sleep in_ for once _. Here I go having to go back to sleep three different times to get my wish…_

Gingerly setting her new and expensive device on top of a ever growing pile of law books, Kagami idly wondered what she was going to do with her free Saturday.

 _I could try bowling…? No, that’s boring alone,_ Kagami thought, rising out of bed to begin her day.

_Maybe I could go drinking? Nah, too expensive, not when the selection is geared to make you buy food to go with it. Guess I’ll just get coffee and decide there._

Just finding her standing legs after so many hours of being sedentary, Kagami pulled back the shades, only almost fall backwards. Dazzling streams of light cast in setting the room in a blinding glare.

 _This is why I don’t wake up so late… Why is the sun_ right _there…_

Reclosing the shades, Kagami awkwardly leaned over her desk to open them half way from the other size.

Unpleased with the change, awkwardly leaned over her desk to reclose the blinds again. Pulling them to the side, Kagami stopped halfway, preventing the harsh light from hitting her fishtank.

_Yeah, it’s so bright if I leave them open all the way I’ll probably just upset Gyupi. Ugh… what is with all the heat and sun lately? Where the hell is fall? It’s already September..._

Opening her sad excuse for a closet, Kagami dropped the half of her pajamas she could stand to wear in this heat. Pulling herself into a more summer appropriate shirt and khaki shorts, Kagami did an embarrassing jig as she dressed.

Kagami looked over her shoulder at the door. Not really expecting anyone but deciding she felt more secure anyway.

 _Yup, no one saw that dance at least... Only_ Guypi _is allowed to appreciate these… terrible moves. I wish I owned something a bit more… idk what the word is… Revealing? If only for heat concerns. I miss that green tanktop._

_Kagami’s shoulders dipped, depressed._

_Oh well, I’m sure someone smaller than me enjoying their donation… I miss my old clothes. Getting older sucks…_

Sliding her phone into her pocket with a final, emphatic swing of the hips, Kagami made to step into the raised floor kitchen floor only to be startled by her phone buzzing.

_Probably Tsukasa asking for boyfriend advice again. At least it means she’s trying to maintain a healthy relationship, even if she knows full well she has more experience than I do._

Awkwardly pulling her phone from her back pocket, Kagami shrugged.

_I swear she’d be lost half a dozen different ways if she didn’t have her phone. I just wish she wasn’t such a mail demon anymore. Send fewer, bigger messages, please!_

Kagami nodded as she read that it was, indeed, Tsukasa, up early for work.

Her face suddenly growing intense, Kagami’s eyes opened wide at the picture attached to the email and the text superimposed on it.

‘ _Hey Kagami! Look who I bumped into!’_

 

* * *

 

**September 7th, 2013**

**3 Hours Later**

**1 PM**

Kagami fidgeted in her usual seat below the CAFE sign at the back wall of the restaurant. She didn’t take her eyes off of the picture on her phone since she had arrived. Konata was holding Tsukasa by her shoulder, taking a selfie at arms length with her.

Konata had apparently bumped into Tsukasa while she was out jogging.

_Guh, why am I focusing on Konata so much! It was Tsukasa, your own twin sister, who sent you the darn thing. I should be happy Tsukasa bumped into an old friend and got some time to hang out instead of scrutinizing Konata for even being present in the picture. I’m sure she’d like to hang out with Konata as well…_

Kagami’s eyes suddenly darted left awkwardly, realizing her mistake.

 _Crap, how do I keep forgetting she_ lives _near her. She’s probably unceremoniously talked to her in the past._

Kagami let out a strained, frustrated breath, confused that she was getting upset if anything.

_Why am I making such a big deal of this?!_

Kagami rapidly tapped her foot on the floor, anxiously going over the facts again.

_It just all happened so fast; I called Tsukasa up and was glad Konata was still there. It’s all kinda blurring together. Since when does Konata go jogging?! She was obviously out of breath, and with that getup… Given that loose, multi-colored tank top and all the sweatbands she was wearing, I’m inclined to think the jogging thing wasn’t an elaborate joke at the very least._

Talking over the phone, Konata apparently had nothing to do today and volunteered to come out to Tokyo and hang out.

 _I can hardly believe it. She actually wants to hang out, and I didn’t even have to ask! How great is that?_ Kagami thought, strain melting to a smile on her face.

Kagami had given her the name of a cafe and Konata said she’d looked up directions. It was a good hour of train riding away. She still had to jog all the way back home from the shrine to shower off and change so she said she’d be there by one at the earliest.

Kagami leaned back, tempering her excitement with a deep stretch as she continued to watch the door for her arrival.

_I don’t know what I believe less—that this is actually happening, or Konata exercising on purpose._

Kagami grinned to herself at the thought, partly hiding her face with her hand.

Kagami reflexively looked over herself again. She was looking forward to seeing her in person again and, to that end, Kagami had elected to throw on a fashionable little sleeveless vest and a little makeup on before heading out.

 _All this coffee is making me jittery._ _I hope this getup is fine…_ _In retrospect, I probably should have been ordering ice tea from the start if I wanted to come early._

Kagami leaned her head back into her hands awkwardly, wondering about that.

_Well, it might not be the coffee, though. It might just be stress. Still, it’s not like I’m planning to confess again or anything, though._

Kagami’s eyes snapped to the door, bell hanging off of it ringing.

_You know you can stop doing that, it’s just gonna make you look weird when she--_

Kagami saw Konata at the door, suddenly overcome with excitement as Konata looked about .

_Okay, calm down. Don’t look weird. Just be cool; this isn’t any different than when you used to meet her._

Putting on her best lawyer smile, Kagami sat patiently as the woman at the bar pointed Konata to the far wall. With a skip in her step, Koanta came running, a smile plastered on her face.

“Kagami! How’s my favorite tsun--…!?”

Konata eyes shot open with disappointed confsuion, sucking in a breath dramatically as she pointed a finger at Kagami.

“You lost your twintails!” Konata nearly shouted, throwing her arms in the air dramatically to pull her own hair into a hasty imitation of the hair doo

“What’d you go and do a thing like losing your biggest moe point for?!”

Kagami’s shoulders fell, dumb smile like one she hadn’t given in years washing over her face at the spectacle before her...

 _Now_ that’s _the Konata I know and love._

“Well, nice to see you too... I’m trying to impress law professors, thank you very much, ” Kagami said, beating Konata to the obvious comparison as Kagami suppressed an even bigger smile.

“Who knows? A tsundere lawyer sounds like something out of a Gyakuten Saiban game.” Konata said, enthusiasm obvious in her voice. “I’d play that in a heartbeat!”

Kagami let out a breath, smiling as she gestured to a chair with her arm.

“I probably would too. Thanks for introducing me to those games, by the way,” Kagami said ,moving her arms about as if she didn’t know what to do with them.

Konata pulled up a chair, sitting across from her in a tank top different from the one in the picture, and without the sweatbands she was wearing before.

Also different were glasses; underframes in a understated red that went surprisingly well with her natural blue hair.

 _That said, I don’t think it was fashion that lead her to get those. I recognise that design from light novel covers… Must be an otaku thing_ _. I’m pretty sure she probably only wears them indoors or something given she wasn’t wearing them in the photo earlier, though..._

Looking at her up close, Kagami could tell she wasn’t kidding about jogging. She was obviously in better shape than Kagami had ever seen her in before. She was always a natural athlete, but Kagami had never really considered how actually _trying_ might change her figure.

The change was subtle. Her legs and arms more defined, without any pudge to be seen. Her posture was straighter and stronger. All these subtle changes, Kagami could almost swear she was a little taller, but given the years since they had last seen one another Kagami couldn’t be sure if it was just her imagination.

_I’m just glad you haven’t gained weight or anything. It’s good to know she’s taking care of herself_

“You know, some guys will pay good money to stare that much.” Konata peered through her glasses, adjusting them by the arm with a flick and a grin.

“I, uh, sorry I didn’t mean to. I mean, it’s just you look good. I mean, like, you’ve obviously been working out a little.”

Kagami looked off to the side, embarrassed by the social misstep, but knowing her company she was sure it would be fine.

“Yeah, Patty and I have been going on jogs every morning since last February,” Konata said, self-satisfied grin and crossed arms enough to sell it all. “She calls it her ‘cosplay training regime!’”

Konata quickly eyed over Kagami with a smirk.

“Speaking of change, _wow_ , Kagami, you’ve gotten taller! Taller than Tsukasa at least.”

Kagami winced at little at what should have been a compliment.

_I wish I hadn’t… I can’t afford new clothes..._

“Well, it’s not like you’ve gotten any shorter, heh,” Kagami shot back, teasing playfully.

Konata’s expression tightened, almost faster that Kagami could notice.

“Also your _boobs_ got bigger while I wasn’t around,” Konata said, smirking as she emphasized her lilt on the most embarrassing word.

Kagami hid her mouth and face, sighing, but secretly smiling beneath her hand.

“How did I know you were gonna go there…?”

_It’s a little embarrassing, but at least this means that Konata is in high spirits. I can’t ask for anything more._

 

* * *

 

**September 7th, 2013**

**4 Hours Later**

**5 PM**

 

“And it was just so stinky! Like, what could even do that?!”

They’d talked about all sorts of things, from the weather to dinner when they’d gotten all through the obligatory “How have you been doing?” phase of catching up.

Catching up and talking about inconsequential things took Kagami back to the years of doing the same in high school and before she started to focus on college.

_Simpler times._

_It seemed like it would go on forever back then, it just feels like a drop in the bucket now..._

Living alone was taking a toll on Kagami, but Konata had apparently fully reintegrated with everyone that hadn’t moved away or gone elsewhere. But happy as she was….

_I figure it can’t hurt to ask. She looks fine to me._

“So, Konata,” Kagami started, carefully steering the conversation. “Patty asked me something a while back.”

“Patty? What'd she say?” Konata said, turning her head quizzically.

“A while back, she told me to ask you if everything was really okay when you were ready.”

Kagami suddenly felt a wave of discomfort wash over her.

_Uh… I didn’t really consider if she wanted to talk about it before I said that… should I-_

Before Kagami could reconsider, Konata stiffened, almost turning away before stopping just short of it.

“She… Yeah, that definitely sounds like her,” Konata broke eye contact, her eyes preferring the sandwich in front of her.

There was an obvious air of awkwardness hanging above them, the pair sitting silently in their chairs.

“If you don’t want to talk about it Konata, that’s fine, I mean—” Kagami started, only to be interrupted by Konata raising a pointing finger urging her to stop.

“No. If it’s you, it’s alright.” Konata suddenly spoke, voice just noticeably quavering as she quietly spoke. “I know you well enough. You are my friend.”

The words ‘You are my friend.’ hung eerily between them after she spoke, seeming to carry connotations Kagami couldn’t identify.

“Konata, is something wrong?” Kagami surreptitiously asked, leaning over slightly.

“Yeah… honestly a little,” Konata said, voice flat, lacking it usual flourish. “It’s about me and Hideki.”

An image of the former pair sitting on Konata’s bed that day wormed itself into Kagami’s mind.

“Is it okay if I say something personal. Like, _really_ personal?” Konata said, shaking a little from obviously suppressed emotion.

_Wow, if she’s asking permission it must be something big…_

Kagami gulped and nodded, making sure Konata was looking to see.

“Kagami… me and Hideki went through a rough patch for a good month. We were worried I--”

Konata suddenly stopped mid sentence, seemingly debating if she was going to say something.

_Worried you were what?!_

Kagami leaned forward reflectively, hands nervously playing with her hair. Kagami had no idea what expect as she scrutinized Koanta in front of her.

Konata swallowed, stiffening her shoulders and turning her head to Kagami. Konata’s eyes moved to meet with Kagami’s, before painfully darting down, settling on the table between them. When she spoke, it came in a low monotone, as if she were trying to divorce the emotion from her words.

“Things got out of control between us, I said something really stupid, and for a few weeks we were scared we were pregnant…”

Kagami slowly digested the words, unsure where to even begin unpacking the implications.

 _You two thought you were going to have a child…_ _?_

Kagami’s eyes drifted over Konata. The notion of Konata as a parent had never crossed her mind before. Bringing her hands to her lap, Kagami fidgeted, not having any idea what to think.

“It ended up being nothing, thank god,” Konata said, pained smile stretched across her face. “But we did a lot of talking and…”

Konata’s voice began to trail off, looking away for a moment.

The moment stretched on for a seeming eternity, that heartbreaking forced smile killing Kagami, much as she tried to hide it from Konata.

Konata continued to stare at the table, not seemingly out of any sense of confusion, but something else, some deeper emotion that pulled at Kagami.

Turning her head back up to the exhaustion was made obvious by Konata’s growing crestfallen expression as she spoke.

“Until we decided it wasn’t gonna work out.” Konata said, words heavy as spoke them.

Another silence stood between them, only sharing a look of an old, concerned friend and a tired gaze of someone who had seen unspoken troubles.

“Konata,” Kagami reluctantly, deciding if it was too weird to ask to hug her instead of speaking. “I’m so sorry this ha-”

“But enough sobby talk!” Konata suddenly interrupted, suddenly scarfing down the rest of her sandwich.

“Let’s hit a bar or something!” Konata said with a smile, tousling her own hair to wildly as if to pull herself together.

Kagami blinked, eyes widening at the sudden change in atmosphere.

_What…? She... She doesn’t want to talk about it…_

Kagami blinked again, looking at her old pal stretching an arm behind her back and smiling enthusiastically, as if trying to pep herself up.

_I guess that’s understandable... I just... She was just so..._

Kagami resisted letting her shoulder slump in disappointment. She said, intent on carrying the shift in mood Konata was so obviously intent on.

_I guess I… I'll respect her privacy. She obviously didn’t want to go into details..._

“Hit a bar, huh? Well, what the heck,” Kagami said, forcing the gears in her head to turn to match her enthusiasm. “There is this great place nearby. I’ve only been in there a few times because of money, but today is a day for celebration!”

_I really hope she’s okay, but I now isn’t the time. For now, let’s just have fun. We can talk over the details another day._

 

* * *

 

**September 7th, 2013**

**1 Hour Later**

**6PM**

 

“Kampai!!”

The pair slammed their second round together, causing Konata to spill hers partially.

Watching the drink spread across the wooden table of their private booth, they looked at each other, electing to share a hearty laugh.

“You’re not even on your second glass, you lightweight!” Kagami jeered, sipping her ale of choice.

“You try drinking under fifty kilo! I managed-” Konata belched a little, her face flushing. “I managed to _gain_ weight jogging. Diet and eckes-exs… expert-- running around made me _put on_ weight. What the hell kind of backwards world is this where you can get heavier from this?!”

Konata set her glass down before her head connected loudly with the table, defeated.

“Come on, Konata, be more careful. You’re gonna spill it again,” Kagami said, grinning as she casually leaned an elbow onto the table.

Konata for her part seemed vaguely offended at Kagami’s advice, tilting her head up to look at Kagami.

“You’re no fun, Kagami. I was doing that cause it’s _fun_ , duh!” Konata said, turning her head up at an awkward angle. “Even in college, you haven’t learned to live it up. All you do is study study study! You can’t live like a hermit!”

“You!” Konata pointed her free hand at Kagami.

“Live!” Konata straightened her arm, uncurling her hand into a point.

”In!” Konata moved her head forward, focusing through the vague glassiness of her drunken stupor.“ _Tokyo_!! City of opportunity!!” Konata said, at this point leaning halfway over the table as she finished her enthusiastic proclamation.

Kagami, letting her inhibitions get the better of her, leaned forward onto the table, grabbing a yakitori skewer, grinning mischievously.

“What makes _you_ any different?” Kagami said, smiling as she pointed the skewer at Konata. “You’ve been cooped up in your house the past two years.”

Konata found her way back into her seat, pushing away plates for enough real-estate to place to rest on the table again, hair scarily close to her spilled drink.

“Patty’s been keeping me busy, I assure you,” Konata said, face depressed into the polished wood table. “Though, maybe not as much as she used to.”

“Oh yeah, how’d she used to keep you _company_?” Kagami said, the jeering lilt in her voice making the lewd implication clear.

“Cuddling mostly,” Konata said casually, face flush with alcohol. "Sometimes sex. It got messy sometimes…”

“Yeah, I’m sure you two did!” Kagami said, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully.

Konata sat up, face red from lying down with a vague look of confusion in her eyes.

 _So they had sex huh…_ Kagami thought, savoring the charred flavor as she absentmindedly considered the idea.

_Good for them…_

Kagami took another bite.

Kagami’s eyes suddenly shot to Konata, the pin finally dropping in her mind. Instinctively taking a sharp breath, Kagami accidentally inhaled her food, to Konata’s sudden horror.

Slamming a fist onto the table, Kagami coughed frustratedly. Her mind was torn between the two imperatives of forcing the hunk of meat from her airway and taking in the breath needed to ask a for a desperately needed clarification.

“Holy crap, Kagami! Are you alright?!” Konata frantically leaned over the table as Kagami coughed it out into a napkin.

“ _I’m—I’m—you—she—You both what?!”_ Kagami stammered out a distressed question, struggling to breath.

The wheels in Kagami’s head spun meaninglessly, trying to parse this new information.

“Oh.” Konata said, flatly sat back in her seat, confusion on her face before she settled into a passive “Eh.”

Konata shrugged her shoulders casually.

“Patty was there for me. I was crying a lot when I moved back in. Well, one thing lead to another and we started dating.” Konata said, eyes wandering as she reminisced, swirling the drink in her glass as she did so.

Kagami’s face contorted is desperate shock, arms pressed into the booth around her at odd angles.

"Dating?! You? With her? _Two girls?!_ Dating?” Kagami struggled to produce a coherent thought, Konata’s lax drunkenness making it even harder for Kagami to maintain her composure. “Since when was Patty into _girls_?! Since, when were… _You_ …?”

Kagami slowly murmured those last words, still trying to catch up with the rush of information. The implication coming into focus.

“Oh, Patty? She just likes cute things. Girls, boys—she says it doesn’t really matter to her just as long as she likes hanging out with them.” Konata said, nonchalantly adjusting her glasses in a way that only served to further confuse a ragged Kagami. “I was crying on her shoulder one day complaining about how I didn’t like sleeping alone anymore, how it felt wrong not being in a relationship anymore, and she asked if I’d like to date her so we could sleep together. I didn’t see the harm, I guess.”

Konata’s face flushed with more than alcohol as Kagami’s confusion only intensified further.

“Though sleeping with perhaps became more like _laying_ with after a while,” Konata said, lewd grin at the corner of her mouth, turning to her side as if Patty were sitting with them. “She really thought I needed the company. She was probably right. _Such a good friend_.”

_Such a good friend… Such a good friend. Such a—_

Kagami slammed both arms down onto the table. She needed some kind of outlet, she just needed to do something _—anything—_ right now.

“Konata, do you have _any_ idea what you are saying to me?” Kagami stammered, wanting desperately to clear up whatever was going on right now. “You and her, you are…”

Kagami thought back to that website and the subjects she discussed with the people that reached out to her.

 

“Does… this make you both bisexual or something?” Kagami said, deciding to start here just to have a place to begin.

“I, I guess?” Konata said a little perplexed by the question. “I mean, sorta? Honestly I don’t really try to think about it. We were happy while we were dating. Didn’t last more than a few months, but she helped me out when I needed it. Seems like it would just overcomplicate things if I started asking questions. Or at least that was the advice Patty gave me.”

Kagami buried her face in her hands, the information seemingly refusing to parse in her head.

“But why are you _telling me this_? Isn’t this like super personal or something!?” Kagami pressed, smelling the alcohol on her own breath as she spoke.

“It’s not a big deal if it’s you, Kagami,” Konata said, waving a hand back and forth as if to dismiss the notion. “No sweat, no sweat!”

“But it _is_ a big deal, you bonehead!” Kagami insisted, voice cracking under the strain.

_I have no idea where I’m going with this and frankly I’m scared to think about it._

“Wo- _oah_ , Kagami!” Konata teased, leaning over to grab her half full second mug.“ I’d never have taken you for the type that would rag on something like that!”

Kagami’s faice strained, clawing for a response.

_I’d never mean that I just… this is all just..._

“No it’s not that, it’s just….” Kagami said, fingers burying themselves in her hair as a blush traveled up her face, the revelation inescapable.

 _It’s that I know you are single and into girls. Konata is single, and dated a woman._ _Konata is a girl who is free._

“I don’t know what you are thinking about over there, Kagami,” Konata said, picking up some yakitori herself as she slid it off the skewer, “but your drink is getting warm and the food cold.”

Kagami sighed, eyes straining at this of day at the constant stream of revelations.

“Right… just… stay hydrated?” Kagami said, having no idea how to feel right now.

 _I-- I guess I just make_ _small talk for the rest the night and let her talk about her exe…_ _Ex_ es _. Plural…_

_Is this…? Does she really not see this as that strange? She slept with a girl…_

Kagami’s shoulders slumped as a drunk Konata happily chewed her food, not a hint of of regret or agony or confusion Kagami might have felt if she had said anything resembling what Konata just mentioned off-hand.

Kagami put her face in her hands, not knowing what else to do..

_Was I just worrying too much? Did Konata go through a period of not knowing how to feel either? Why didn’t things work out? Was it because she was a girl? They seem to still be friends so it probably wasn’t anything bad. How does it feel to sleep next to someone you love…._

Questions raced through Kagami’s head dizzyingly fast.

Then it hit her.

_If she can talk to me about this… if I just don’t mention my feelings… someday… can I talk about my interest in women with her?_

Kagami looked at her drink, reconsidering ordering another glass.

 

* * *

 

**September 8th 2013**

**8 Hours later**

**2AM**

 

Kagami carefully walked Konata into her apartment, Konata only making it through the door by way of Kagami’s far less addled posture.

“Seeeeee? That’s how you live it up, Kagami-sama!” Konata cheered, taking a less than careful step forward as the door closed behind her.

“C-can you please stop calling me that, Konata? And while you are at it, can you _not_ break into song?” Kagami said, making sure Konata was well enough to not fall over as she let her go. “We left the karaoke place half an hour ago. My walls are thin and I’m not supposed to have overnight visitors...”

Kagami had no choice. Neither of them could afford a taxi after all the fun they had tonight, and they had managed to stay out until the trains shut down for the night. Without any money to stay anywhere else, Konata had insisted she stay at Kagami’s since she knew it was within walking distance.

_Nevermind just finding an ATM, she insisted on this...._

Kagami took a careful step forward past Konata to make some amount of space as Konata drunkenly wrestled with her shoelaces.

Kagami looked over her room, suppressing a scowl at her own laziness.

 _Ugh, it’s an absolute mess in here…_ _If only I knew this would happen. I could have tidied up a bit, or at least taken the trash out…_

Stepping over said trash, Kagami thanked herself for frivolously buying a second pillow at one point.

_Maybe I can fashion the winter comforter into a makeshift futon or something..._

“WOAH! GYUPI GOT HUGE!” Konata shouted, stumbling over to the glowing blue tank.

“Shhhhhh! If someone complains, they are gonna kick you out,” Kagami whispered, just loud enough to ensure she wouldn’t be ignored.

Konata marveled at the fishtank, apparently having the presence of mind not to touch the tank as she fawned at Kagami’s beloved pet.

“Kagami,” Konata said, turning to smile broadly. “Your apartment is so cozy!”

Kagami grinned smarmily.

_Yup, she’s drunk. It's the only reason anyone could possibly think that._

Pulling the comforter out, Kagami wondered if it was warm enough to just sleep without a blanket. Maybe she could just roll up in the comforter?

Konata began to cry exaggeratedly.

“The picture!” Konata had their graduation photo, shakily holding it from the top to show Kagami. “You _kept_ it! I always knew you were a good friend, Kagami!”

Kagami looked at her friend, feeling a bemused smile tugging at her lips as Konata gestured towards the picture.

Apparently not satisfied, Konata moved in, wrapping her arms around Kagami before she could protest.

“Hey, cut it out, that’s…!”

 

Kagami wanted to say uncomfortable, but it wasn't. It was more that this was the first physical contact she’d had with Konata in years.

A soft, natural smile crept up Kagami’s face, as she reached to pat the head resting just below her chin. Kagami really _had_ gotten taller, hadn't she?

Kagami moved in, gradually shifting her some of her weight onto the wobbly Konata.

_I… can’t remember the last time I held her like this…_

Kagami pulled her into a tight squeeze, Konata reciprocating as the picture tumbled from her hands.

_Is this wrong? Am I taking advantage of her because she’s drunk?_

Kagami felt Konata nestle herself into Kagami’s collar, her arms pressing hard into Kagami’s sides

_No, she just really needs a hug is all. After everything she’s been through, I’d need a hug too._

Kagami felt Konata’s weight shift, leaning everything in her tiny frame onto Kagami.

_But if this is how I can be for her, she can hug me whenever she wants._

Kagami gently smiled, patting Konata on the head. The simple action only extended the silence, until Konata began weeping.

“There there, I’m here.” Kagami spoke, a simple gentleness only leading Konata’s deceptively strong frame to hug her tighter.

They stood there, untold time passing until patting progressed into running fingers through Konata’s hair. Konata’s cries had gradually progressed into sobbing, but by now calmed into a gentle weep.

It wasn’t the first time she’d cried in her state tonight, but as it continued something was... _deeper_ about it.

A silence set in, Konata’s sobs ending entirely.

An eerie amount of time passed, Kagami unsure if she should let go, or continue to comfort her, but…

_...I don’t want to let go…_

But before Kagami could wonder if it was going to end, Konata voice croaked, speaking up.

“Kagami,” Konata said, muffled by Kagami’s shirt. “Don’t leave me…”

“What?” Kagami said, confused.

“I said, don’t go like he did…” Konata insisted, a sense of uncharacteristic honesty permeating every word she spoke.

Kagami had always known Konata to be honest with herself, but this was different.

“It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere,” Kagami said, gingerly stroking Konata’s hair.

_She must be talking about Hideki..._

“He was so scared Kagami… he was so _scared_.” Konata voice shook, as she tugged at the back of Kagami's shirt. “He wanted so bad not to be a burden on me.”

_I don’t know why she’s going there but, if she’s thinking about her breakup, I better be there for her._

“We never bothered with condoms or anything… We were just having such a good time… I told him not to pull out…” Konata's breathing quickly grew ragged. ”It’s not that he didn’t want to be a father... “

_Oh… she’s talking about… the pregnancy scare. They weren’t even taking precautions…?_

Kagami was scared to think of it. A life to protect. Maybe he got cold feet. Kagami could understand that.

_It’s one thing for someone in my position to end up like that, but she’d even dropped out of college to be with him. And then there’s the idea of commiting your life to someone else’s… As fulfilling as it might be, it must be terrifying..._

Kagami gently massaged Konata’s scalp, leaning her chin onto Konata’s head.

_I don’t know how I’m so calm right now. I guess it’s just because I have her here..._

Between ragged breaths, Konata started to speak again, voice hoarse with aged grief.

“I told him I was ready to take responsibility with him… if it was with for him,” Konata said, face buried in the nape of Kagami’s neck. “Hideki was so scared of hurting me in the long run when we found out I wasn’t pregnant… He got down on the ground—put his head to the floor like something out of a movie...”

Konata pulled her head back to look Kagami in the eyes. She wore a glassed look in her eyes glasses stained with tears, with afear Kagami had felt sad she couldn’t relate to herself...

“ _He just didn’t love me like that.”_

A deafening silence grew between them, Konata’s eyes looking deep into Kagami’s.

_Just… didn’t love her like that?_

Kagami’s mind crawled, the sentiment terrifyingly familiar.

_She spent all this… this time with him, all this time growing closer… for nothing?_

“He knew how much he meant to me… He couldn’t keep it up… He sounded so scared. I just… I told him what he wanted to hear. I… told him he was brave for telling me.” Konata’s fist pulled painfully back with Kagami’s shirt balled within them. “I’ve seen him cry, but not like that. He didn’t want to go either, but I knew it by then… I’d pressured him into this relationship… _I_ put him through this…”

_P-pressure?_

“I... It was all me...” Konata whispered, tears finally coming before she put her face to Kagami’s collar again.

Kagami could hardly find it in her to speak. Her eyes were already watering at the heartache she was having confessed to her. She’d never heard Konata speak like this before…

_S-ay something._

Kagami stood still, as her best friend sobbed in her arms.

 _Say_ something _to her, Kagami. Say anything!_

“D-don’t say that, it wasn't your fault,” Kagami said, voice wavering as she spoke softly. “Have a little self confidence….”

Kagami felt herself being pushed away, watching Konata move away from her when in reality Kagami was nearly falling backwards.

“AND JUST _WHAT_ WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!” Konata screamed.

Konata’s face was red with a fearsome look that seemed like it scarcely belonged on her face,, both arms raised threateningly.

Kagami reeled back instinctively, already crying herself, as Konata’s face quickly filled with shock and regret…

“Oh, oh my god. I’m so sorry Kagami.” Konata’s posture weakened, nearly falling where she stood.

“I’m… fucking pathetic. I looked to you for help and then pushed you away. Literally…”

Konata fell to her knees.

“I’m a scrawny otaku who doesn’t know when to _shut up_. I make _fun_ of people. I can’t keep my hobbies out of _every_ aspect of my life. I look like a goddamn _middle schoole_ r. I abandoned my _friends_ for a love I was too stupid to realize was one sided! Who could love _something_ like that?!”

“I CAN, GOD DAMMIT!!” Kagami screamed, beside herself as a dam burst in response to Konata's self degradation.

"Don't you dare ever talk about yourself like that!” Kagami’s hands balled into angry fists, eyes only seeing Konata.

“You are a beautiful, passionate person! You care for everything you love with reckless abandon! You are never afraid to say what what's on your mind! You enjoy your life to the fullest extent! Who couldn't love that?! _I_ love you for that!! I’ve loved you as long as I’ve known you for that!!”

Kagami’s chest heaved as she spoke, words spewing with unfettered intensity.

“Show me! Show me who could say something like that about you so I can show them a thing or two about how wonderful you are... God damnit..." Kagami doubled over, eyes never leaving Konata as tears of rage licked at the corners at her eyes.

Kagami could only see Konata’s face before her, now realizing that it was filled with an abject shock Kagami had failed to processes. The room bled back into Kagami’s view.

Kagami quaked as she realized what she had just said, who she said it to.

_I… should never have ordered that drink._

 

* * *

 

 

**Sunday September 8th**

**7 Hours Later**

**9 AM**

 

Kagami hadn’t slept the entire night, running fingers across her scalp as if to physically rack her brain with her hands. All this over what she confessed, Kagami as she walked Konata to the train station the next morning.

Konata had said she never knew, and that she wished she hadn’t spent the whole night making Kagami uncomfortable with talk of her exes.

Since then Konata seemed to be awkwardly avoiding addressing the fact that Kagami had confessed to her; a pattern that continued well into the morning and their walk here. Or, at least that was what Kagami had surmised when she went deep into thought.

_I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have let her degrading herself get the best of me._

Kagami tossed the hair out of her eyes carelessly, keeping pace with Konata beside her.

_The landlord might even kick me out for having a guest after all those people made noise complaints._

Kagami and Konata had hardly spoken the entire morning, simply making their way to the train station on foot as Konata remained deep in thought.

_Some part of me is glad about the silence. Silence means we don’t have to talk through this thick fog of awkward between us, but that just makes me more anxious for when it inevitably comes up again._

The train station came into view, Konata quietly following beside her.

_I wonder if we’ll get to have fun days again. Maybe this changes too much._

_Konata knows._

_She knows I’ve been in love with her since high school._

Kagami resisted the urge to emote with her arms, preferring to keep it inside.

_She can never unhear that._

The steps to the platform were right in front of them. Kagami prepared to part ways.

_Maybe this is just the start of a new chapter in my life._

Konata looked to Kagami.

_Maybe she was too drunk to remember the details._

Konata looked around her, walking up to the train station alone.

_Maybe she thinks this is all some weird misunderstanding._

Konata turned around, looking back to Kagami.

_Maybe she never wants to see me again._

Kagami felt a strange apathy wash over her, like color had faded from the world.

“Hey… Kagami?” The first time Konata had said her name since last night. “I was thinking… yesterday was a lot of fun…”

Kagami chuckled, little meaning behind it.

“So I was wondering...” Konata said, a smile growing on her face. “...If you wanted to do that again sometime, that would be fun.”

Kagami could see the green in Konata’s eyes.

“What are you saying. It was a disaster,” Kagami said, avoiding the question as she turned to walk home.

Konata grabbed Kagami’s hand, lightly pulling her back to face her.

“Don’t say that, Kagami, we were laughing and having fun the majority of the time. I’d call that a good time...” Konata’s voice trailed off, until she looked up at Kagami. “I’d like to do this again some time, but maybe under different circumstances.”

“Now what is _that_ supposed to mean?” Kagami said, weakly smiling for the first time since last night.

“I’m not just gonna let you forget what happened back there, Kagami.”

Konata took Kagami’s hand with both of her small palms, stopping in front of her with a look of characteristic enthusiasm; the kind she directed at her hobbies. Set with bright green eyes, and framed against her long blue hair, behind a pair of muted red glasses.

“Kagami, I’m asking you on a date.”

 

 


	9. Read Chapter 8, it is now twice as long ad is part 1 and 2 in one part as originally intended. Placeholder chapter with notes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a chapter, only a placeholder, sorry to disappoint.

For those who read the previous chapters and have been waiting. Sorry to disappoint, the others are coming, albeit slowly. This chapter is here to tell you what I said in the title. Chapter 8 is now a single part chapter as originally intended, and is nearly twice as long. I hope You'll enjoy it. While my schedule has slipped completely, this is in no way dead. More news to come, with any luck before next weekend. This chapter will be replaced with the real proper chapter 9 when the editing is finished. Again, sorry to disappoint. Thank you for reading my silly little story all the same.


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